The Curious Case of Kaori
by VincentGrimm
Summary: A new, budding shinigami takes his place in the Kuchiki House as a guard when strange things begin happening within the manor. Regrettably for Kaori nobody else seems to be able to see them and Byakuya is not one to suffer fools.


It was the start of the new year at Soul Society, as the new recruits got settled in and unpacked Captain Kuchiki took a stroll around his manor making sure the new recruits to his house staff were settling in well but also, knew the rules. One such recruit was Kaori – relatively new to Soul Society he had joined the shinigami early and made his way up the ranks before filing for a place in the Kuchiki House Staff. It was a good job, especially for someone who – in shinigami years- was barely twenty years old. He was so proud, his short black hair was brushed nicely, his black kimono with the Kuchiki house logo on the back in white was clean and ironed. After attaching his Zanpakuto to his belt Kaori was about to leave his room when another member of staff knocked on his door, dropping off a small package.

Kaori took a seat by the door and opened the package, within was a letter from his mother out in the Rukongai. "_Good luck and good health_," the note simply said "_I give you this of your Grandfathers to aid you on your way,_" Kaori smiled and put the note aside, beneath it was a fine silver necklace with a small silver book attached to it. Despite his attempts to open it, the silver book stayed shut – it was simply a luck charm. After placing it around his neck, Kaori closed his eyes, pressed the book against his warm skin and tucked it into his kimono before heading out the door.

The Kuchiki Manor was a beautiful place, Byakuya had many gardens and out buildings in this large area and Kaori wanted to make sure he knew the place before the start of his shift the next morning and so, without further ado, he began to wander. First of all the main buildings that he knew were within his boundaries to explore. Next were the gardens with ponds full of Koi, before moving onto other more simple gardens with small trees and high walls. It was indeed a beautiful place, it made Kaori feel all the more fortunate for having his new role. Somebody moved in the garden, between two of the taller trees, Kaori raised his hand to shield his eyes and get a better view when – to his absolute surprise – a hollow came charging from the shadows. Kaori was taken aback by this sudden event – a hollow in Soul Society! And even worse – in the Zen Garden of the Kuchiki. The hollow was tall, on two legs and resembled what he had seen on Human films as a "Tyrannosaurus Rex". He had no such fear of this animal as from the hole in its chest it was clear that it was a hollow and the lack of spiritual pressure told him it was a weak one at that. As it charged it bellowed loudly, roaring and swinging its head wildly. Raising his arm casually Kaori pointed two fingers at the charging hollow. A figure appeared in the garden to his right, Kaori looked over to see none other than Captain Kuchiki stood there, on the veranda of his house.

"Not to worry Captain, I have this," Kaori called loudly before pointing at the Hollow and announcing loudly "Hado Number 4! Byakurai! (_Pale Lightning)_,"

There was a burst of lightning energy from his finger, tearing through the hollow blowing it to dust before, regrettably, hitting one of the large trees also blowing that into a million pieces. As bits of tree and foliage fell onto the garden in a slight rain, Kaori turned back to the Captain who had not moved but did have a slightly bemused look on his face. "All done, Captain," Kaori said with a bow seconds before the Stealth Force appeared and pinned him to the ground.

Byakuya Kuchiki slowly walked onto his pavilion, taking in the beauty of the scenery when he spotted one of the new Guards in his garden. He had seen him several times in the last few minutes walking around his gardens which was not untoward in any way. What made Byakuya doubt his new addition to the guards was as he stood watching, the new Guard pointed at some trees near the outer wall. Byakuya looked from the trees back to the Guard. Had he never seen trees before?

"Not to worry Captain, I have this," the Guard said with a smile. Byakuya wondered what on earth this Guard had when he suddenly unleashed Hado Number 4 on one of the largest trees in the garden. Byakuya frowned slightly – he had liked that tree, and it may have needed pruning but Kido was not what he had in mind. As the Stealth Force appeared and carted the protesting Guard away Byakuya frowned

"Sir, was there any reason a Palace Guard was destroying property?" one of the Stealth Force soldiers enquired – it was his job to make sure Soul Society was run in an orderly fashion.

"Apparently he '_had this_'" Byakuya commented coldly "whatever '_this' _was, it had something to do with the way that tree looked and no longer remains,"

The soldier of the Stealth Force, bamboozled by Byakuya's comment, nodded before disappearing to deal with Kaori who was now sat in a six by six cell.


End file.
